Rick Reilly Should Apologize To Me

Friday marked yet another twist in the ongoing saga of sportswriter Rick Reilly.

Once considered by Rick Reilly to be one of the great sportswriters of all-time, Rick Reilly suddenly began to exhibit unacceptable behavior for someone even as great as himself  (according to him).

His downward spiral was marked by repeated requests to have another person he barely knows (Tiger Woods) apologize to him. Not only was Reilly exposed as a serial apology-demander, but the situation soon snowballed with Reilly laying out elaborate “rehabilitation” plans, once again, for a person (Tiger Woods) he barely knows.

Whereas Rick Reilly once projected an image of sportswriting greatness, and repeatedly told us that he was, in fact, very, very good, his actions of the last few months have cast serious doubts about Rick Reilly and whether he is really what has claimed to be. Namely, a great sportswriter.

In the past I was so convinced by Rick Reilly’s public persona that I actually told some of my friends- “Look at this guy Rick Reilly. He really thinks he’s great.” And now, after seeing Rick Reilly demand apologies over and over for the last several weeks, I no longer know what to think.

I feel betrayed.

Rick Reilly is not who he said he was.

I demand an apology.

One of the things that always made Rick Reilly so great, according to Rick Reilly, was that he had “access” to players. And it’s true! Rick Reilly often hangs out in locker rooms where professional athletes shower. Sometimes he asks them questions and they reveal themselves to him in telling ways. One time, for example, a football player told him that the team has a lot of respect for their upcoming opponent and were working very hard in practice because they anticipated a tough game.

It’s inside information like this that gives Rick Reilly such an advantage over lowly bloggers and that has helped to make Rick Reilly a truly awesome sportswriter.

And speaking of bloggers, what kind of training do they have to do their jobs? Rick Reilly went to college!

In fact, as Rick Reilly wrote in a recent column, his college journalism professor once told him, “You’re too good for sports.” It’s true. Rick Reilly was so talented and so admired by college faculty members that he probably should have been writing about politics or world events. And, yet, he chose to write about sports.

And what has been the outcome of this decision? For years Rick Reilly was an award-winning sportswriter, according to his own ESPN bio. Last July he became the first person to hand himself the Rick Reilly Outstanding Journalism Award. At the time Reilly assured us that he deserved the award and would likely win it again several times in the future.

Now all of that is in doubt. Rick Reilly, it suddenly seems, is not the great sportswriter that we thought he said he was. He is a guy who makes strangely personal demands from people he barely knows and who presumptuously advises such people how they might “rehabilitate” themselves in his eyes.

Shame on you, Rick Reilly.

I demand an apology.